Quick Look
Describes the rhythms of work, living and dying for the womenfolk of the highlands and islands, as part of the celtic spiritual tradition.
Description
Through their oral culture, the communities of the highlands and islands handed down their traditions of life and spirituality from generation to generation. The womenfolk, in their many different roles, were the guardians of power and wisdom in 'seeing', healing, blessing and cursing.
Noragh Jones describes the centuries-old rhythms of work, living and dying through the chants, rites and traditions kept by women. She concludes that the rifts and strains in modern society are not to be resolved by escaping to the fringes, but by our conscious efforts to recover the old and deep insights of these womenfolk in our own lives. Their qualities of hospitality and conviviality, together with their daily celebration of the ordinary, have much to teach us in our modern urban communities.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Woman of the house
2. Woman of loving
3. Woman of mothering
4. Woman of the seasons
5. Woman of nature
6. Woman of healing
7. Woman of the fays
8. Woman of dying
9. Celtic spirituality for today
Appendix: the Iona Pilgrimage
Reviews
'Noragh Jones reweaves the sacred mantle of blessing and song, placing it lovingly about the shoulders of our desacralized world.'
-- Caitlin Matthews
